April 2, 2026
BC Ferries reviewing near miss incident
Summary:
- A near miss incident occurred on March 8, 2026, involving the Northern Adventure, with no injuries, damage, or environmental impact.
- The incident was reported immediately to Transport Canada, and a detailed report has now been submitted to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
- An internal review is underway to determine root causes and develop concrete actions that will focus on preventing this type of incident from occurring again.
VICTORIA, BC - BC Ferries is reviewing a near miss incident that occurred last month on its northern route between McLoughlin Bay, Bella Bella and Ocean Falls. There were no injuries, no damage to the vessel, and no environmental impact.
On March 8, 2026, the Northern Adventure briefly altered from its planned course to allow crew to take necessary measures to secure the vessel in heavy weather. During this time, the vessel entered an area of reduced water depth near Milbanke Sound. At its shallowest point, the vessel travelled briefly over a shoal in approximately nine metres of water. The vessel executed immediate corrective manoeuvres and returned to its planned track.
BC Ferries immediately reported the incident to Transport Canada, as required, and has now submitted a detailed report to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
With that report now complete, BC Ferries is sharing details of the incident publicly. As is standard protocol in any near miss incident, the company has also initiated an internal review, including a full debrief with deck crew, a review of procedures, interviews with key personnel, and analysis of voyage data and bridge resource management practices.
“Our learnings from the Queen of the North incident more than two decades ago led to an industry leading safety program at BC Ferries,” said Nicolas Jimenez, President and CEO of BC Ferries. “This recent near miss reinforces that safety must remain the foundation of everything we do. Our customers and crew must both feel and be safe when they travel with us, and we are committed to applying the lessons from this review to further strengthen our operations.”
Incidents of this nature are very uncommon, and BC Ferries operates with multiple layers of navigational safeguards, training, and oversight, and consistently implements more stringent safety protocols than are required. Each incident – including near misses – is thoroughly reviewed as part of a continuous improvement approach to strengthening safety across the fleet.
BC Ferries is committed to making public any key recommendations from the review and implementing the lessons learned to help prevent similar incidents in the future.
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